Idaho Ag-Gag Law Ruled Unconstitutional

State's law that made reporting animal abuse illegal has officially been overturned.

Yesterday, a United States District Court of Idaho judge signed a final judgment declaring the state’s standing “ag-gag” law unconstitutional and in violation of the first and 14th amendments. Ag-gag laws—which are currently in place in seven states—prevent employees, journalists, and animal advocates from documenting animal and worker abuse in the agricultural sector. In August, Matthew Liebman—senior attorney for Animal Legal Defense Fund, one of the animal-rights organizations that filed the original suit against the state of Idaho—spoke out on Reddit to promote conversation about the importance of undercover videos. In addition to keeping the public informed, videos exposing animal cruelty—similar to the recent investigation conducted by Mercy For Animals at pork giant Hormel—have been pivotal in changing legislation regarding animal cruelty, assisting in the closures of slaughter houses, and indicting animal abusers on criminal charges.